They all giggled for a few minutes, and then Grace gave Edith a smile. “Mr. Copeland and Mr. Tomkins will be invited, as will Mr. Gaither, and several other men whom you may wish to meet.”
Edith blushed a bit. “So, you are saying I should use Lord Radcliffe’s party to find the protection I seek, yes?”
Grace shrugged. “In a word, yes. Henshaw is coming, and several other ladies have been invited, too. Radcliffe didn’t want to make it seem as though all of this was for you, though I do believe you were the motivating factor.”
How could she take that? How would anyone? He’d said that he had an idea for how to help her, but he hadn’t said what it was. Just the other day, he and Henshaw had been discussing time and options, though nothing specific had been shared with Edith. Now, he would invite her, and others, to his home, despite not being particularly social, in an effort to help her.
How was she to feel about that?
“Are your husbands invited?” Edith asked softly, needing to say something, anything.
Grace nodded with a smile. “Of course. Ingram and Lord Sterling will be delayed for a time, as they are fighting the law for you. It is quite tricky.”
“They are?” Edith cried, feeling her blush fade into paleness.
Grace winced. “Yes, and I was not supposed to say that. They are in Kent at present, dealing with the lawyers and folk who set up Sir Reginald’s ridiculous scheme. Apparently, there is an associate of theirs and Henshaw’s who is doing some other things.” She waved her hand, dismissively. “I don’t know all of the particulars, but there it is. They shall all meet us at Merrifield.”
It was too much, all too much, and Edith could barely comprehend all the moving pieces involved in her situation now. So many people working for her and on her behalf, stepping away from their own concerns and lives, purely with aims to improve hers.
“Stop frowning, Edith!” Georgie scolded. “We would all do more than this if we could.”
Edith barely managed to nod, feeling grateful and humbled to have such friends. “Is there anything else I should know about Merrifield before we go?” she asked, forcing a smile.
Grace gave a rather devious grin. “Just one thing. Sir Reginald is not invited, and he is not to come within fifty miles of the house. You can be worry-free, Edith. No need for heroes at Merrifield.”
The thought of three weeks without Sir Reginald nearby sounded like the very image of heaven.
Edith grinned at her friends and said, “When do we leave?”
“Yes, I received your note, Graham, but I was sure you could not be serious.”
“Unfortunately, I was and am serious.” Graham winced, shaking his head, and looked over at the pale, fair-haired woman sitting in the parlor. “Is all prepared?”
Eloise laughed once and leaned her elbow on the armrest of her chair. “Of course, it is, darling. It took some work, as we haven’t hosted anything here in an age, but it is done. When do you anticipate your friends?”
Graham grunted and turned to the fireplace, resting his arm against the mantle. “They aren’t my friends, Aunt.”
“Whose fault is that?” she demanded without any venom.
He glanced over his shoulder at his aunt, really more of an age to be a much older sister than the sister of his father. “What exactly are you implying, Eloise?”
She met his look with frank eyes. “I know you, Gray. You could walk into a room with twenty people holding out their hands to you, and you will only see a roomful of people.”
“That’s hardly fair,” he protested, slightly stung by the accusation. “I have Tyrone, and I am not… unfriendly with others.” Even to him, the words sounded weak.
Eloise shook her head slowly. “My dear boy, it is time to come out of the shadows in which you have hidden yourself.”
Graham returned his attention to the fire. “I have not been hiding. I am simply more reserved than perhaps I should be.”
“Gray, the wallpaper says more than you do.”
“Then we need less complicated wallpaper.”
Eloise laughed her warm, engaging laugh, reminding him of Penelope, his mother, and oddly, Edith.
He had to laugh at himself, feeling his tension easing away every moment he spent here at Merrifield. This was home, and it was the only place that would feel like home. He was never more himself than when he was here. It was easier to breathe, easier to laugh, easier to be.
Easier to admit he had only one friend he could name.
“Fine,” he grumbled with a wry smile, pushing away from the fire and moving closer to her. “Those that are coming are… potential friends. Well, there are some among them that I could count as friends. Is that better?”
Eloise lifted a brow in amusement. “Marginally.”
She suddenly began to cough, and the rasping, deep, resounding sound of it chilled Graham and sent him to the seat beside her.
“Eloise…” he said, eyes wide, taking in her body as though it would tell him what he wished to know.
She held up a hand, turning her face away into a handkerchief and coughing further. “Wait,” she managed to choke out before coughing again.
Graham scooted his chair closer, resting a hand on her back, familiar feelings of helplessness pouring in.
At last, she began to breathe more freely, though she was pale and glistening with a sheen of perspiration.
“Apologies, Graham. How mortifying!”
“How long has it been like this?” Graham asked, keeping his voice low. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Eloise favored him with a dark scowl.
“It has been damp, Graham, and I’ve never quite felt myself after the winter. Don’t fuss yourself over a little cough.”
“Little cough?” he repeated. He shook his head at her. “Eloise, I think you just coughed with the entire capacity of both lungs, and it sounded painful in the extreme. Are you feverish?” He laid a hand on her brow only to have it swatted away.
“Stop that,” she insisted. “No, I am not feverish. If I were feverish, I would be in bed requesting a dish of soup. As it is, I am perfectly capable of walking here and there, sitting where I like, and behaving as I bloody well please.”
Graham sat back, his brows rising. “Well, then. Pardon me.”
Eloise rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. “Don’t take that tone, Gray. I’ve grown tired of being pitied and treated like an invalid. Just because I haven’t been well the last few weeks…”
“You haven’t?” he interrupted sharply. “Why didn’t you write to me? I was wasting my time out in London when I could have been here to take care of you and Molly. You have been wearing yourself out taking care of her, which I should never have allowed. It’s too much effort for you, and you are in no state to do so. She is too much work, has too much energy, and you should never have been put in this position. I’ll cancel the house party, tell everyone it is no longer happening, and I’ll give all this up so you might recover, and…”
Eloise pushed up to her feet, a tower of indignation, despite her slight frame and paleness, a muscle at her jaw ticking as she glared at Graham, silencing him without a word.